Robbie Fulks has the soul of a country singer and the mind of a vaudevillian. Still, for Robbie, it's about the songs. "There are many good living songwriters," says the Chicago Reader, "But then you hear a new Robbie Fulks record, and you can’t remember who they are." He's written country songs about how compromised most country music is, and while he's fond of folk and bluegrass, he's been known to please audiences with covers of hits by Cher, sung in a voice that Paste Magazine praised as being, "a turpentiney tenor, as splintered as unvarnished wood left outside."

His new album, Gone Away Backward, is a sparse, acoustic-only effort that echoes the sounds he heard as a child, growing up in rural Appalachia. Robbie says, “It seemed like the songs were veering toward a certain place—acoustic, bluegrass and pre-bluegrass acoustic country with a Southern gothic tinge to it.” For all that, his lyrics keep the whole thing from sounding old-fashioned. "Live it up while you can," he sings, "but when you get to the bottom, don't reach for my hand."

You never know exactly what you’ll get with Robbie. It maybe be something along the lines of swing or rockabilly, or it may be a full album of Michael Jackson covers like his last release Happy. If you’re confused already, that is right where Robbie wants you; intrigued, guessing, and on your toes about what’s coming next, but his long-time fans know that whatever it is, it is going to be good.

For a great night of acoustic country, catch Robbie Fulks at the Freight.